Basketball

UST revelation Mark Nonoy overthrows Kai Sotto in NBTC UAAP 24

ABS-CBN Sports on Nov 23, 2018 05:31 PM

A rare triple-double in the high school ranks was more than enough for Mark Nonoy to nudge ahead of towering teen Kai Sotto in this week's rankings

UST has wasted no time in shining the spotlight on its brand new star in the UAAP 81 Juniors Basketball Tournament.

After dropping 31 points in his very first game in the big leagues, Mark Nonoy tallied a triple-double to lead the Tiger Cubs to their maiden win.

As if his scoring spree in his debut wasn’t enough of a statement, the 5-foot-8 do-it-all guard opened everybody’s eyes with a 17-marker, 16-rebound, and 12-assist effort in his team’s takedown of UPIS last Sunday.

That was the first triple-double in the high school ranks since Kai Sotto collected 22 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 blocks in Ateneo’s victory versus NU in Game 1 of the Finals a year ago.

Nonoy also added four steals just for good measure to leave no doubt in staking claim to the top spot in Week 2 of the Chooks-to-Go UAAP 24.

With him fronting the effort, UST has yet another player challenging Sotto’s dominance in the UAAP Juniors – following now Growling Tiger CJ Cansino who was hailed as last season’s Season MVP.

For his part, the Blue Eaglets’ towering teen had a powerful performance of his own with a 27-point, 20-rebound double-double in their second win in a row to begin their title defense. Making it even more impressive is he had to carry a heavier load in their first game without court general Forthsky Padrigao.

That was more than enough to put Sotto as a close second in this week’s rankings.

Following them are RJ Abarrientos who shot FEU-Diliman to their first triumph, Carl Tamayo who made sure NU kept pace with Ateneo, and Bismarck Lina who backstopped Nonoy for UST.